


Edge of Extinction

by Bookdragon123_4



Series: Avenging Watcher [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Mostly Cannon Compliant, Original Female Character - Freeform, Writer is not good at tagging, shameless mary sue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25721842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookdragon123_4/pseuds/Bookdragon123_4
Summary: Jade has settled in with the Avengers again. Watch her as she has to deal with the superpowered group when they retrieve the scepter and all that entails.This work will be spanning many fandoms. If you don’t want to read about a particular one, then I suggest you read “Watcher of Worlds” before proceeding to your preferred fandom work.Anything recognizable is the property of Marvel.As usual, I only have access to transcripts, so events won’t happen exactly like the films.
Series: Avenging Watcher [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

I flew alongside the jeep Natasha had stolen as she, Clint, Steve, Tony, Thor, and Hulk made their way through the forest, taking out Hydra agents. I was using all of my elemental powers this time, wanting to keep them from getting rusty. 

It was fun, taking down the Hydra goons, but they weren’t much of a challenge. I was able to think up a grocery list even as I threw a fireball at an enemy jeep. 

‘ _ Hmm. I think we’re low on Poptarts. I should tell Tony that the bulk package that he buys isn’t going to last as long now that Thor got Clint and me interested in them.’ _

Then, I caught Thor’s hammer and used it to throw lightning. Ever since I’d show that I could wield it, Thor enjoyed sharing it with me during battles.

\----------------

It had been a year since Shield fell. Stark had finished the remodeling of the Tower about three months ago and invited the whole team to live there. Bruce was already in residence. 

Natasha, Clint, and I moved in soon after Nat and I came back from setting up new safe houses around the world. Steve joined us a little over two months after. Sam opted to stay at his house, but I did buy him a new car to replace the one totaled by the Winter Soldier and crew. 

\-------------

Currently, the team was on a mission to take the Hydra base where Loki’s scepter might be. 

Cap was on a motorcycle, bashing through enemy lines like a tank. Iron Man was flying above us, trying to get a clear view of the fortress we were aiming for. 

“Shit,” Tony exclaimed over the comm. I saw him bounce off an energy barrier protecting the building. 

“Language,” Steve scolded, though I didn’t think it was intentional. “Jarvis, what's the view from upstairs,” He asked the resident AI, who was in a satellite scanning the area.

“The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield,” Jarvis reported. “Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken.”

“Loki's scepter must be here,” Thor theorized as he threw his hammer at a tank. “Strucker couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last.”

"At long last" is lasting a little long, boys,” Natasha quipped from her position on the ground. 

“Yeah,” Clint agreed. “I think we lost the element of surprise.”

“Wait a second.” Tony was flying over the empty town. “No one else is gonna deal

with the fact that Cap just said "Language"?”

“I know,” Steve sighed. “It just slipped out.”

A few minutes of fighting later, I heard Jarvis give an update to Tony, who was still trying to find a way through the energy barrier.

“Sir, the city is taking fire.”

“Well, we know Strucker's not gonna worry about civilian casualties.” I could hear Stark’s frown. “Send in the Iron Legion.”

I watched as six automated Iron Man armors flew into the city and started herding the civilians to safety. 

“Clint!” 

At Natasha’s cry, I wheeled around in the sky and quickly flew towards Nat, who was crouched over a downed Clint.

“We have an Enhanced in the field,” Steve reported from his position.

“Clint's hit!” Nat and I started doing what we could for the deep energy burn on Clint’s side. 

Twice, I had to deflect blasts from the bunker that presumably hit Clint.

“Does somebody want to deal with that bunker,” Natasha called over the comm.

Hulk came by and just rammed through the concrete building, silencing the energy gun.

“Thank you,” Nat told the Hulk.

Clint was moaning in pain, and I had to hold him down as Natasha put a gauze pad over the wound. 

Once that was done, I stood watch as Natasha wrapped it.

“Stark, we really need to get inside,” Steve told the genius while smashing people with his shield. 

“I'm closing in,” Tony reported.

After that, I turned the comm chatter out as I concentrated on deflecting fire from Natasha and Clint.

“Clint's hit pretty bad, guys,” Natasha reported as she helped Clint stand. “We're gonna get to the jet. Obsidian’s with us. Just find that scepter.”

“Copy that,” Cap replied. 

I kept my hands up as our little trio made our way through the battlefield, toward the quinjet we arrived in. I helped settle Clint into a medical bed as Natasha put a hand to her ear to report.

“We're locked down out here. Hostiles are down.”

“Then get to Banner,” Steve replied. “Time for a lullaby.”

Natasha nodded at me to keep watch over Clint as she went back out to calm down the Hulk. 

I tried to keep Clint comfortable as he shifted around due to the pain. I also kept an ear on the comm, just in case my help was really needed. 

“We have a second Enhanced,” Cap’s report came in about ten minutes later. “Female. Do not engage.”

Seconds after that, Tony’s voice came through. “Thor, I got eyes on the prize.”

\------------------

Once everyone got back to the jet, Tony, with the help of Jarvis, took off for the Avenger’s tower.

I tended to Clint, before settling down in one of the chairs. 

Natasha had been talking to Banner, who was back in human form. She turned to Thor, who’d taken off his cape. “Thor, report on the Hulk.”

The god leaned on a wall. “The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims.”

Banner groaned. Thor backtracked, sensing the line wasn’t the right one. “But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout.”

Tony distracted Bruce by spinning the pilot’s chair around. “Hey, Banner, Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul. Is it okay if she sets up in your lab?”

Bruce nodded. “Yeah, she knows her way around.”

“Thanks.” Tony turned back to the comm. “Tell her to prep everything. Barton's gonna need the full treatment.”

“Very good, sir,” Jarvis replied. 

“Jarvis, take the wheel.” Tony stood up and walked back towards us.

“Yes, sir. The approach vector is locked.”

Tony patted Cap on the back. “Feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing

since Shield collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but… No, but this- This brings it to a close.”

“As soon as we find out what else this has been used for.” Steve looked at the case the scepter was in. “I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?” he frowned in concern.

Tony nodded along. “ Banner and I will give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard.” He turned to Thor. “Is that cool with you? Just a few days till the farewell party. You're staying, right?”

Thor grinned. “Yes, yes, of course. A victory should be honored with revels.”

“Yeah, who doesn't love revels? Captain?”

Steve didn’t find the situation nearly as entertaining. “Hopefully this puts an end

to the Chitauri and Hydra.” He sighed at Tony’s look. “So, yes, revels.”

The rest of the trip was Tony talking about the party.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

Once the Quinjet landed on the tower, Dr. Helen Cho, the Tower’s doctor, took Clint to the medbay. Natasha and I followed her, keeping Clint in our sights. 

Tony, Thor, and Banner went their separate ways, while Steve stayed behind to give the report to Hill.

Clint was taken directly to Dr. Cho’s regeneration table, which she liked to call her Cradle.

It started patching Clint up right away. 

At one point, Tony stopped by. Clint was awake by then, and the archer asked for something to drink. I smiled at Clint’s ability to bounce back. 

Natasha smirked down at Clint, who smiled right back. “Are you sure he's gonna be okay? Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together.”

Dr. Cho, who was watching some readings on her tablet, nodded her head. “There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacra.”

“She's creating tissue.” Bruce, who’d come to watch, was fanboy-ing over the other doctor’s work.

Dr. Cho sighed. “If you brought him to my lab, the full Regeneration Cradle could do this in 20 minutes.”

“He's flat-lining.” Tony came in with a tray full of drinks. “Call it. Time?”

“No, no, no, I'm gonna live forever,” Clint joked. “I'm gonna be made of plastic.”

Tony handed the archer one of the drinks. “Here's your beverage.”

“You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton,” Dr. Cho corrected. “Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference.”

“I don't have a girlfriend.” Clint took a sip of his drink.

“That I can't fix.” She turned to the Stark. “This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are gonna be left in the dust.”

Tony smiled back. “That is exactly the plan. And, Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday.”

The doctor shook her head as she retracted her machine, which had finished knitting Clint’s skin back together. “Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties.” She turned back to her tablet before asking, “Will...Thor... be there?

Tony just smirked.

\-------------------

“But, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the general's palace, drop it at his feet. I'm, like, "Boom. You looking for this?" 

Rhodey, Tony’s oldest friend, and the Warmachine looked around at Tony, Hill, Thor, and I. None of us had laughed at was apparently was supposed to be a funny story.

It had been a few days since the scepter retrieval mission, and Tony was holding his annual party for veterans. I was in a navy blue cocktail dress, sipping on a soda since I didn’t like alcohol.

"Boom. Are you looking for..." Rhodey repeated. Still no reaction, and he sighed. “Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else, that story kills.”

“That's the whole story,” Thor asked. 

“Yeah, it's a War Machine story.”

Thor forced a grin. “It's very good, then. It's impressive.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Quality save.” He changed the subject, turning to Tony. “So, no Pepper? She's not coming?”

“No,” Tony shook his head. 

Rhodey turned to Thor. “What about Jane? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?”

I rolled my eyes. “Wow, thanks Rhodey.” I gave him my best Natasha glare. 

“Not that you don’t… uh…” Rhodey held his hands up and started to backtrack. 

I held my glare for a few more seconds before breaking out into a grin. “Ha, got you.”

Once he realized I’d been joking, Rhodey scowled at the other two men. “Thanks for the backup.”

“Ms. Potts has a company to run,” Tony explained, not responding to Rhodey’s glare.

“Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in,” Thor added. “Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer.”

“And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on Earth. It's pretty exciting.” Now, I could tell that both men were bosting about their girlfriends. 

“There's even talk of Jane getting a Nobel Prize.” Thor was looking straight at Tony now. 

Hill -who’d joined us at the end of my prank-, Rhodey, and I shared amused looks.

“Yeah, they must be busy, because they would hate missing you guys get together.” Hill pretended to cough. “Testosterone!” She straightened back up. “Oh, my goodness. Excuse me.”

“Want a lozenge,” Rhodey offered jokingly. 

“But Jane's better.” Thor got the last word in.

I wandered off to find less posturing conversation.

\-------------------

After all of the people had left, and it was only the team and our friends, we ended up sitting together in one couch area. 

Clint and Thor had gotten into an argument about who could lift his hammer. It had roped in everyone else as well.

“But it's a trick,” Clint was saying.

Thor shook his head. “No, no, it's much more than that.”

"Whosoever, be he worthy, shall haveth the power," Clint recited. “Whatever, man! It's a trick.”

Thor motioned to his hammer, which was sitting on the table between all of us. “Please, be my guest.”

Clint stood. “Really?”

The god nodded. “Yeah.”

“This is gonna be beautiful,” Rhodey commented.

“Clint, you've had a tough week,” Tony jibed. “We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up.”

Clint sent a patronizing look at Thor. “You know I've seen this before, right?” He grabbed the handle with one hand and tried to lift, but the hammer wouldn’t budge. “I still don't know how you do it!”

“Smell the silent judgment,” Tony quipped.

Clint motioned to the weapon. “Please, Stark, by all means.”

Tony stood and walked over. “Okay. Never one to shrink from an honest challenge.” He put his wrist through the leather loop as everyone cheered him on. 

“It's physics.” Tony turned to Thor. “Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?”

“Yes, of course,” Thor was smiling. I could feel Mjolnir’s semi-sentient energy was amused as well.

“I will be reinstituting prima nocta,” Tony declared as he tried to lift the hammer. Again, it didn’t move. Tony let go. “I'll be right back.” He left and came back with parts of the Iron Man suit.

After not being able to lift the weapon even with a gauntlet, Tony had Rhodey put one on and try together. 

“Are you even pulling?”

“Are you on my team?”

“Just represent. Pull.”

After a few seconds, they gave up.

Banner tried next, more for fun than real belief on his part. After Bruce was done, Steve gave it a go.

“All right, let's go.”

“Go ahead, Steve. No pressure.”

Steve set his feet and pulled. The hammer budged, and the smile Thor’d been wearing fell.

After a few more seconds of pulling, Steve gave up. 

“Nothing.” Thor’s smile was back. “See, I told you. Nothing.”

“And, Widow?” Bruce prompted Natasha. 

She shook her head. “No, no. That's not a question I need answered.”

“All deference to the Man Who Wouldn't Be King, but it's rigged,” Tony proclaimed.

“You bet your ass,” Clint agreed. 

Hill turned to Cap. “Steve, he said a bad language word.”

Steve sighed and turned to Natasha. “Did you tell everyone about that?”

“The handle's imprinted, right,” Tony ‘explained.’ “Like a security code. "Whosoever

is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation.”

Thor smiled as he stood up as well. “Yes. It's a very, very interesting theory.” The god grabbed the hammer’s hilt. “I have a simpler one.” Thor tossed the weapon to me. “You're all not worthy.”

I chucked as everyone booed us. Just as I tossed the hammer back to Thor, a mechanical voice came from the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

“Worthy. No. How could you be worthy? You're all killers.” A very broken down Iron Legion suit came stumbling out of the hallway. 

Everyone stood and faced the intruder. I morphed my clothes into my battle suit. 

“Stark,” Steve asked for an explanation.

“Jarvis.” The loyal AI didn’t respond.

The mangled suit kept talking. “I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a-dream.

“Reboot Legionnaire OS.” Tony typed something on his phone. “We got a buggy suit.”

“There was this terrible noise. And I was tangled in… In… Strings. I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.”

“You killed someone?” Steve was the first to directly speak to the thing.

“Wouldn't have been my first call,” The suit admitted. “But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices.”

“Who sent you,” Thor asked.

A record rewound, then Tony’s voice came out of the suit. “I see a suit of armor around the world.”

Tony startled. “Ultron.”

“In the flesh. Or, no, not yet.” The suit gestured to its broken self. “Not this chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission.”

“What mission?” Natasha subtly cocked her gun, which she’d pulled from under her dress. 

“Peace in our time.” 

Everyone ducked as four more broken suits crashed through the wall behind Ultron. 

Steve kicked a table up to block the repulsor beams. Bruce and Tony got out of the room, Tony most likely to get his suit.

Rhodey got hit by a beam and thrown through a glass partition to the floor below.

Natasha got behind the bar and started firing at the bots, but the bullets just bounced off.

I pulled out my shoto saber and started slicing up the bots. I noticed one of the suits take the scepter, but I was too busy protecting Dr. Cho to do anything about it.

“Cap!” Clint had managed to get to Steve’s shield. He threw it at the supersoldier, who caught it and sent it through the last suit. 

Everyone took a breath as the fighting stopped.

“That was dramatic,” The original Ultron suit sighed. I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to... evolve?” He picked up the torso of a destroyed suit. 

“With these? These puppets. There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction.”

Thor thews his hammer and destroyed Ultron’s suit, but before the power completely went out, a song played for a few seconds.

“I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me…”

\----------------------

“All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out. He used the Internet as an escape hatch,” Bruce told us. 

We were all in Tony’s lab, trying to figure out exactly what this Ultron wanted.

“Ultron.” Steve was frowning. 

“He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other,” Natasha crossed her arms, staring at Tony.   
  


“He's in your files, he's on the Internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?” Rhodey was clutching his shoulder, which he’d landed on during the fight. 

“Nuclear codes,” Hill realized.

Rhodey nodded. “Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can.”

“Nukes?” Natasha shook her head. “He said he wanted us dead.”

“He didn't say "dead." Steve pointed out. “He said "extinct."

“He also said he killed somebody,” Clint added. “There wasn't anyone else in the building.”

“Yes, there was.” Tony’s voice was subdued as he sent a projection from his phone to the floor. It showed a very broken down orange sphere with hints of blue. 

“What?” Bruce walked up to the projection. “This is insane.”

“Jarvis was the first line of defense,” Tony explained. “He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense.”

“No.” Bruce shook his head. “Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't a strategy. This is... rage.”

Just then, Thor came barging in the room and grabbed Tony by the neck, lifting him up. The god had been out looking for the suit that took the scepter.

“It's going around,” Clint quipped.

“Come on, use your words, buddy,” Tony got out.

Thor wasn’t amused. “I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark.”

“Thor,” Steve called. “The Legionnaire.”

Thor dropped Tony as he reported. “The trail went cold about 100 miles out, but it's headed north. And it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again.”

“Genie's out of that bottle.” Natasha ticked her chin at the projection. “ Clear and present is Ultron.”

“I don't understand.” Dr. Cho, who was still with us, turned to face Tony. “ You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?”

Tony started to chuckle, much to the confusion of everyone else in the room.

“You think this is funny?” Thor took a step towards Tony.

Tony faced the room. “No. It's probably not, right? This is very terrible. Is it so…” He chuckled some more. “Is it so... It is. It's so terrible.”

“This could have been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand.” Thor was pacing in the middle of the room. 

“No. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” Tony raised a hand. “It is funny. It's a hoot that you

don't get why we need this.”

“Tony, maybe this might not be the time,” Bruce cautioned. 

“Really?” The genius turned to Bruce. “That's it? You just roll over, show your belly every time somebody snarls?”

“Only when I've created a murder bot,” Bruce replied.

“We didn't.” Tony spread his arms. “We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?”

Bruce didn’t have time to answer as Steve cut in. “Well, you did something right.

And you did it right here. The Avengers were supposed to be different than S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony cut him off. “Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?”

“No, it's never come up,” Rhodey replied sarcastically. 

“Saved New York?”

“Never heard that.”

“Recall that?” Tony’s voice was raised. Everyone else was just glancing at each other. “A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the livelong day, but… that up there, that's… that's the endgame. How were you guys planning on beating that?”

“Together,” Steve answered.

“We'll lose,” Tony retorted.

“Then we'll do that together, too.” Steve turned to the rest of us. “Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller.”

\-----------------------

It was the next morning when Steve came into the conference room, where Natasha, Thor, and I had been discussing Ultron. 

Steve handed a tablet to Thor as Clint and Tony came in. “What's this?”

“A message,” Steve explained as the tablet was passed around the room. “Ultron killed Strucker. 

“And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us,” Tony added as he looked at the screen.

Natasha was handed the tablet next. “This is a smokescreen. Why send a message

when you've just given a speech?”

She handed the tablet to me. The picture was of a dead Strucker in his cell, with the word ‘Peace’ written in blood behind him.

“Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss,” Steve theorized. 

“Yeah, I bet he... “ Natasha cut herself off as an alert went up on her screen. “Yeah. Everything we had on Strucker's been erased.”

Tony raised a brow. “Not everything.”

He led us to another room, where there were stacks of boxes full of paper files.

We started going through them.

“Known associates.” Steve threw down a few files. “Baron Strucker had a lot of friends.”

Bruce picked up one and took a look. “Well, these people are all horrible.”

“Wait.” Tony was looking at the file Bruce was holding. “I know that guy. From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms.”

Steve gave Tony a disapproving look. 

“There are conventions. All right? You meet people.” Tony took the file. “I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab.”

“This?” Thor pointed to something on a picture.

“It's a tattoo.’ Tony shrugged. “I don't think he had it.”

Thor corrected him, pointing at the screen. “Those are tattoos, this is a brand.”

My head shot up from where I’d been looking through some other files. “A brand?”

Thor nodded. 

“Let me see the guy.”

The god handed me the picture, and as soon as I saw it, I groaned. “Really. It has to be him?”

The others were just staring at me in confusion. I explained. “I know the guy. Ulysses Claw. I also know about the brand. It's a word in an African dialect meaning "thief" in a much less friendly way. Wakandan.”

Tony frowned. “If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods…”

Steve caught on. “I thought your father said he got the last of it.”

“I don't follow.” Bruce stood up from his seat. “What comes out of Wakanda?”

I pulled one of my vibranium knives out of my pocket space. “The strongest metal on Earth.”

Tony stared at my blade, which he’d never really seen up close before. Steve’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Where is this guy now?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

“...It's a thing with me. Stark is... He's a sickness!”

We’d tracked down Ulysses to an abandoned shipping boat outside of the city Johannesburg, South Africa.

The mercenary was talking with Ultron, who’d constructed a new, bigger, stronger body. Two older teenagers were standing beside Ultron. One was a boy with silver hair, the other was a girl with burgundy hair.

The team snuck up on the group, and Tony announced himself and Thor. “Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart.”

Ultron wasn’t surprised. “If I have to.”

“Nobody has to break anything,” Thor replied. 

Ultron snorted. “Clearly you've never made an omelet.”

Tony turned to the god. “He beat me by one second.”

“Yes. He's funny. Mr. Stark.” The boy walked forward, his sister standing behind him. He gestured to all the weapons around us. “It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?”

“This was never my life.” Tony glanced at the weapons sitting on the tables. 

“You two can still walk away from this.” Cap tried to reason with them. 

“We will,” the girl told him patronizingly. 

“I know you've suffered-” Cap tired again.

Ultron cut him off. “Captain America. God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but…”

Thor looked up at the AI. “If you believe in peace, then let us keep it.”

“I think you're confusing "peace" with "quiet."

Tony took a few steps forward. “What's the vibranium for?”

“I'm glad you asked that.” Ultron stepped forward as well. “Because I wanted

to take this time to explain my evil plan.” He waved his hand around, before using something to pull Tony’s suit forward then push him into a metal door. 

Tony got up and took off after Ultron. The rest of us started fighting the Ultron-bots that came after us. We also had to deal with the twins, plush Ulysses’s goons. 

Widow and I took care of the goons, with Hawkeye providing cover from above.

Tony was still battling Ultron, while Steve and Thor dealt with the twins.

Cap’s voice came over the comm. “Thor, status.”

Thor’s reply was angry. “The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care. I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty.”

I finished up the last of the mercenaries, before trying to regroup with Natasha. I found her on the ground, staring off into space. 

I felt a presence behind me, and I turned around just in time for Wanda’s red mist to envelop my head. I felt her magic try to infiltrate my mind, but my shields were stronger. 

I went to knock her out, but a blue blur knocked me over before I could. 

Clint helped me to my feet. I glanced at Natasha and the others, who were all staring off into space. 

“Natasha, I could really use a lullaby.” Tony’s voice was urgent, and I could hear fighting over his comm.

I touched my earpiece. “That's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down. I’m coming, but I’m your only backup.

“Alright,” Came Tony’s tense reply. “I'm calling in Veronica. Hurry.”

The line cut off, and I glanced over at Clint. He nodded. I took off, knowing he’d watch over the rest of the team.

\-----------------------

It was rather easy to find Hulk and Tony, give that all I had to do was follow the sounds of fighting. 

I arrived on the scene just as the Hulkbuster armor finished assembling around Tony.

“Will you listen to me?” Tony tried to reason with Banner. “That little witch is messing with your mind.”

I glanced around at all the civilians who were staring at the battle. I knew I couldn’t let the fighting pair stay in the area or more people would get hurt.

I flew into the air and extended both hands. Hulk started to levitate, which he wasn’t happy about. Hulk roared at me, but couldn’t break my hold, as there was nothing physical to break.

Tony followed me as I flew the Hulk out of the city and into the surrounding desert. 

Before I let Hulk down, I commed Tony. “I can get him to revert, but he needs to be contained. I can’t revert him  _ and _ hold him. When’s Veronica getting here?”

“Right now.” Tony pointed to a huge cube of metal that was painted in the Ironman colors. “Just set Banner down, and it will do the rest.”

I did as instructed and set the Hulk on the ground. Immediately, parts of the cube broke off and landed in a circle around Banner, expanding to create a metal tent that held the Hulk. 

The Hulk contained, I dove into Banner’s mind. It was animalistic, with huge amounts of rage and fear. I swam through the emotions and found their source. As a mental image, it was a dark chest covered in chains that were flung open. Besides the chest was an armored box, big enough to be a panic room.

I concentrated on netting all the rage and fear and putting it back in its chest. I had to manhandle it a little, but I got it back in.  _ ‘Sorry Bruce, I know we talked about it, but you’re still going to have one hell of a headache.’ _

After the rage had been contained, I ‘knocked’ on the panic room and a cloud of calm and rational energy slowly came out. Once I was certain it was taking hold as the dominant personality, I withdrew from Banner’s mind. 

Opening my eyes to the physical world, I couldn’t hear any more roaring from inside Veronica.

I looked at Tony, who was still in his armor. “You can let him out now.”

Tony typed something on his gauntlet and the tent retracted, heading back up to its cube. 

In the middle of the circle, Bruce was laying on the ground, wearing pants that were too big for him. He groaned and squinted his eyes open before standing, clutching at his pants to stop them from falling off. “What happened?”

I pulled a spare pair of pants out of my pocket space and handed them to the scientist. “We’ll explain when we get back to the ship.”

He nodded tiredly, and three of us headed back to the quinjet.

\-----------------

“The news is loving you guys,” Hill was telling Clint and me through the screen. “Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air.”

“The Stark Relief Foundation,” Tony asked from his seat. 

“Already on the scene.” Hill glanced behind me to look at the rest of the team, who were all sitting around the jet in silence. “How's the team?”

Clint frowned. “Everyone is…”

“We took a hit,” Steve picked up. “We'll shake it off.”

Hill nodded. “Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here.”

Tony frowned. “So, run and hide?”

“Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer.” The former Deputy Director shrugged in helplessness.

“Neither do we,” Steve added. The super-soldier turned to Clint. “Hey, you wanna switch out?”

Clint shook his head. “No, I'm good.” He glanced back at Bruce, who was already sleeping. “If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out.”

Tony raised a brow. “A few hours from where?”

“A safe house.”

\-----------------

We arrived at a farm in the early evening. Clint landed and cloaked the quinjet, before leading us all up the front path.

“What is this place?” I heard Thor ask behind me as I helped Natasha up the stairs.

“A safe house,” Tony replied.

“Let's hope.”

Clint opened the door and we made our way inside. “Honey? I'm home.”

A heavily pregnant Laura came in from the kitchen. I could tell she was surprised by the extra people, but she hid it well. 

Clint went up to her and gave her a hug. “Hi. Company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead.”

“Hey.” She kissed him.

Tony was just staring at them, bewildered. “This is an agent of some kind.”

“Gentlemen, this is Laura,” Clint introduced her to the guys, who’d never been there before.

Laura smiled. “I know all of your names.”

Clint and I smiled at the sound of pattering feet coming from the stairs. “Incoming.”

“Dad!” Lila was in first, and Clint scooped her up. “Hi, sweetheart!”

Cooper was right behind her, and he hugged his father. 

“Hey, buddy. How are you guys doing?” Clint hugged both of his kids back. “Look at your face! Oh, my goodness.”

“These are smaller agents,” Tony tried to explain behind me.

“Did you bring Auntie Nat and Auntie Jade,” Lila asked as Clint set her down.

Natasha smiled. “Why don't you hug us and find out?”

The children ran to Nat and me, and we gave them big hugs. 

“Sorry for barging in on you.” I heard Steve tell Laura. The shock was wearing off and his manners were coming back. 

Tony’s manners were as they normally were. “Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed.”

It didn’t dampen Clint’s happy mood. “Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off Shield's files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low.”

Natasha had finished swapping kids with me, and she bent down to talk to Laura’s baby bump. “How's little Natasha?”

Laura gave an apologetic smile. “She's...Nathaniel.”

Hearing the news, Natasha sent a fake frown at the unborn baby. “Traitor.”

After that, everyone went their separate ways around the house. Natasha and I went to play with the kids, needing to be around their soft innocence for a while.

\--------------------

“Thor didn't say where he was going for answers,” Tony asked as he split a log. He, Steve, and I were out in the yard, chopping wood for the Bartons.

“Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things.” Steve looked over at Clint, who was working with Cooper to fix the porch railing. “I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception.”

“Yeah, give him time.” Tony set up another log to cut. “We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him.” 

Even though I could have been simply pulling the logs apart with telekinesis, I was using an ax. The repetitive action was soothing.

Steve snorted as he swung the ax. "Earth's mightiest heroes." Pulled us apart like cotton candy.”

“Seems like you walked away all right.” Tony’s tone was bordering on accusing.

Steve could tell as well. “Is that a problem?”

Tony shrugged. “I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old-fashioned.”

“Well, let's just say you haven't seen it yet.” Steve raised a brow as he raised his ax. 

“You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right?” I spoke up quietly.

Tony turned to me. “What, are you blaming me?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m just saying that arguing like this is only playing into what he wants.”

Steve huffed and frowned at Tony. “Yeah, you'd know all about that. Whether you'd tell us is a bit of a question.”

I tried to speak again, but Tony cut me off. “Banner and I were doing research.”

“That would affect the team,” Steve pointed out. 

“That would  _ end _ the team!” Tony raised his voice. 

I checked to make sure that Clint and Cooper had gone inside. Neither needed to hear our leaders butt heads.

“Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the "Why We Fight"? So we can  _ end _ the fight. So we get to go home!”

Steve grabbed a log and ripped it in half with his bare hands, letting loose some of his frustrations. “Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.”

“Hey.” I got the men’s attention as Laura came out of the house and towards us.

She smiled at us. “I'm sorry. Mr. Stark… Clint said you wouldn't mind, but our tractor

doesn't seem to want to start at all. I thought maybe you might…”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, I'll give her a kick.” He headed off to the barn, throwing over his shoulder, “Don't take from my pile.”

Steve glared at the genius’s back. I rolled my eyes at both of them. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

“Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time,” Fury was explaining.

It was after supper that night, and Fury had dropped by with information. I was playing with the kids, but I was also keeping an ear on the conversation.

“My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing.”

“What about Ultron himself?” Steve was leaning in the doorway.

“He's easy to track.” Fury poured himself some lemonade. “He's everywhere. The guy is multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. It still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans, though.”

“Is he still going after launch codes?” Tony was throwing darts in the hallway.

Fury nodded. “Yes, he is. But he's not making any headway.”

“I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare.” Tony’s point was that it was relatively easy for someone with super-smarts to get the codes.

“Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that.”

“Nexus,” Steve asked.

“It's the world internet hub in Oslo,” Bruce, who was feeling better, explained. “Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth.”

“So, what did they say?” Clint was leaning on the sink, fixing a dart.

“He's fixated on the missiles.” Fury frowned. “But the codes are constantly being changed.”

“By whom?” Tony jerked back as a dart flew by him and hit the bullseye. Clint smiled and shrugged.

“-Parties unknown,” Fury continued.

“Do we have an ally?” Natasha was sitting at the table.

“Ultron's got an enemy,” Fury corrected. “ That's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is.”

“I might need to visit Oslo.” Tony came into the room. “Find our unknown.”

Natasha sighed. “Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that.”

Fury shrugged. “I do. I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere. Ears, everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream up. Here we all are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and our will to save the world.”

He stepped into the middle of the kitchen. “Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”

Natasha broke the tension by saying. “Steve doesn't like that kind of talk.”

Steve sighed in exasperation. “You know what, Romanoff?”

“So, what does he want?” Fury took a seat at the table. 

“To become better,” Steve answered. “Better than us. He keeps building bodies.”

“Person bodies.” I could hear the gears in Tony’s head moving. “The human form is inefficient. Biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it.”

“When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed,” Natasha told Bruce and Tony with no little sarcasm.

“They don't need to be protected,” Bruce spoke quietly. “They need to evolve.” He looked up. “Ultron's going to evolve.”

“How?”

Bruce frowned. “Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6 

All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 

  
  


Phasing- Density Shifting

Cloaking- Turning Invisible

Flashing- teleporting

As soon as Bruce explained what Ultron could do with Dr. Cho’s Cradle and the vibranium, Steve started to make a plan. 

The team would split up. Tony would go to the Nexus and try and find our ally. Fury would take Bruce back to the Tower, and Steve, Clint, Natasha, and I would go find Dr. Cho for recon. 

We needed to leave immediately, so I went to say goodbye to the kids before suiting up. 

I saw Laura standing on the front porch, waving, as we took off. Tony left in his armor. Fury and Bruce took whatever way Fury used to get there.

\---------------

“Dr. Cho!” Steve’s voice was loud and clear over the comm. He’d gone into her lab alone, while Natasha, Clint, and I waited in the quinjet.

“He's uploading himself into the body.” Dr. Cho sounded shaken. 

“Where,” Steve asked. 

“The real power is inside the Cradle. The gem... its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get the Cradle to Stark.”

“First, I have to find it.”

“Go.”

Steve spoke to us. “Did you guys copy that?”

Natasha replied as she typed something into the computer. “We did. I got a private jet taking off across town. No manifest. That could be him.”

I pointed to a truck on the surveillance camera. “There. It's a truck from the lab.”

Cap hurried back to us, and Natasha took off after the truck. We quickly formulated a plan as we headed after the Cradle.

She dropped Steve on an overpass before the truck went under. I flew out with him.

“We have eyes on the truck,” I reported as the eighteen-wheeler came into view.

“It's them,” Natasha confirmed. “You got three with the Cradle, one in the cab.”

“I could take out the driver.” I heard Clint offer.

“Negative.” Steve watched the oncoming truck. “That truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron.”

The Captain gave me a look and I nodded, understanding his plan as we started running.

We lept off the overpass right as the truck went under it, landing on the top of the vehicle. 

Steve clung to the back doors, trying to get them open. A blast from inside opened them for him.

Steve barely hung on. “Well, he's definitely unhappy. I'm gonna try and keep him that way.”

“You're not a match for him, Cap.” I chuckled at Clint’s unhelpful statement.

Steve wasn’t nearly so amused. “Thanks, Barton.”

I flew down and lifted Steve into the back of the truck, where Ultron was standing over the Cradle

He disconnected himself before turning to fully face us. “You know what's in that cradle? The power to make real change. And that terrifies you.”

“I wouldn't call it comforting,” Steve quipped as he dodged a repulsor blast.

I grabbed Steve and flew us onto the roof again, where we’d have more space to fight.

Cap threw his shield at the AI, and it lodged in Ultron’s torso. He wasn’t pleased. “Stop it.”

Ultron pulled the shield out and flung it behind him, onto the road. Steve and I glanced at each other but kept Ultron occupied. I could hear the sound of the quinjet getting closer with every minute.

The truck kept moving, but soon, Natasha caught up to us on a motorcycle. She tossed Steve back his shield but had to stop her pursuit for a second as Ultron caused a piece of road to break in front of her.

Steve and I kept fighting Ultron, and I had to grab Steve out of the air as Ultron blasted him off the truck. 

Just as the vehicle came out from under an overpass, the quinjet came down and fired on Ultron, forcing the AI back a little.

The two Ultron-bots that were guarding the Cradle flew out to follow the jet, leaving the Cradle unguarded.

Our fight continued as the truck drove next to a passenger train. I followed Ultron as he and Steve fell off the truck in a grapple, falling into the train. 

Over the comm, Clint updated us on the guards. “They're heading back towards you.

So whatever you're gonna do, Nat, do it now.”

“I'm going in,” Natasha replied. “Cap, Jade, can you keep him occupied?”

“What do you think we've been doing?” I called back as I hit Ultron in the face.

Cap and I continued to distract Ultron. Well, Steve fought him while I tried to protect the civilians on the train. 

Steve had just been socked in the ribs when a blue blur knocked Ultron over. 

I helped Steve to his feet as metal wreathed in red energy blocked Ultron’s path.

The AI stared at the twins, who were glaring back. “Please, don't do this.”

“What choice do we have,” Wanda retorted.

Pietro moved her out of the way a split second before a repulsor beam tore through the train. Ultron used the distraction to leave.

“We lost him!” Cap told Natasha and Clint. “He's headed your way!”

We hurried to the front of the train, where the controls had been destroyed. I looked out of the hole the beam had created to see that the tracks ended.

Immediately, I flew up and out of the train, keeping pace with the runaway train. I concentrated on the wheels and extended a hand. They stopped moving, creating a loud screeching noise, but the train wasn’t stopping. It’d had too much momentum.

I had to watch as the train went off the rails and continue into the city. Pietro’s blue blur started moving people out of the way. A red mist also helped me keep the wheels still.

Eventually, though, the train did come to a stop. 

I landed next to the twins. Wanda was asking after Pietro

“...I'm fine. I just need to take a minute.”

Steve came up behind me. “I'm very tempted not to give you one.”

Wanda wasn’t intimidated. “The Cradle. Did you get it?”

I nodded. “Stark will take care of it.”

Wanda frowned. “No, he won't.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.” Steve defended our teammate. “Stark's not crazy.”

Wanda’s eyes were haunted. “He will do anything to make things right.”

Steve put a hand to his earpiece. “Stark, come in. Stark. Anyone on comms?”

Wanda continued. “Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?”

\-----------------------

Eventually, we made it back to the Tower.

The others weren’t too happy with the twins being there, but they cooled off a little once we explained that they’d changed sides.

The twins and I were currently watching Bruce and Tony try and build something out of the body that had been in the Cradle.

“This framework is not compatible,” Bruce was saying.

“The genetic coding tower is at 97%,” Tony replied. “You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.”

Bruce had finally had enough. He glared at Tony. “I'm gonna say this once.”

“How about "none-ce"?”

“Shut it down,” He demanded.

“Nope, not gonna happen.”

Wanda spoke up. “You don't know what you're doing.”

“And you do?” Tony glared right back at Bruce. He pointed at Wanda. “She's not in your head?” Tony held his hands up. “I know you're angry.”

“We're way past that.” Bruce set down his tablet. “I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade.”

Tony backed up a little. “Banner, after everything that's hap…”

The doctor cut him off. “It's nothing compared to what's coming! You don't know what's in there. This isn't a game!” He abruptly stopped yelling as he felt how angry he was getting.

“No, no.” Tony gestured around. “Go on. You were saying?”

Pietro was the next to have enough, and he ran around the room, disconnecting all the cables connected to the Cradle.

He stopped and looked around at everyone before the floor shattered under him, and he fell. 

“Pietro!” Wanda went to her brother’s side. 

Clint stepped up to Pietro’s prone form. “What? You didn't see that coming?

I replayed what had just happened in my mind, then realized that Clint had fired a bullet through the glass floor from underneath. He must have still been a little mad about the attempted mind-control.

But, even with the interruption, Tony was still bent on creating his AI. “I'm rerouting the upload.” He glared at Pietro. “Go ahead, piss me off.”

Just as Tony finished his upload, Thor came into the room and lit Mjolnir up with electricity. 

“Wait!” Bruce tried to stop him, but it was too late. 

Thor brought his hammer down on the Cradle, charging it into almost an overload.

We all held our breath when he finished, watching to see what would happen. 

A few seconds later, the Cradle’s lid shattered, throwing Thor across the room. The android body crouched on the lip of the Cradle, before looking around and taking off. 

Everyone readied their weapons, but the android stopped right before the window, seeming to catch sight of his reflection.

He flew back towards us and floated gently to the ground.

The team all pointed their weapons at him.

“Stand down, guys.” I motioned for them to put away their weapons. They did, if reluctantly.

The android looked around at us. “I am sorry. That was...odd.” He spotted Thor. “Thank you.” After a second, the android formed a golden cape that was similar to Thor’s.

“Thor,” Steve, who’d come running at the noise, asked. “Did you help create this?”

Thor nodded. “I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center is that.” He pointed to the stone set in the android’s forehead.

“What?” Bruce frowned. “The gem?”

“It's the Mind Stone,” Thor corrected. “It's one of the six Infinity Stones. The greatest power in the universe, unparalleled in its destructive capabilities.”

“Then why would you bring…”

Thor cut Steve off. “Because Stark is right.”

“It's definitely the end times,” Bruce joked.

“The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron,” The android continued. “Not alone.”

Steve tilted his head at hearing the android speak. “Why does your Vision sound like Jarvis?”

“We reconfigured Jarvis's matrix…” Tony explained. “To create something new.”

“I think I've had my fill of new,” Steve replied.

The newly dubbed Vision walked towards him. “You think I'm a child of Ultron.” It was more statement than a question.

“You're not?”

“I'm not Ultron.” Vision tilted his head. “I am not Jarvis. I am… I  _ am _ .”

Wanda frowned at the android man. “I looked in your head and saw annihilation.”

“Look again.”

Clint chuckled as he walked up. “Her seal of approval means jack to me.”

“Their powers.” Thor got the conversation back on track, pointing at the twins “The horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the Mind Stone. And they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side…”

Steve cut in. “Is it?” He turned to Vision. “Are you? On our side?”

Vision thought for a second. “I don't think it's that simple.”

“Well, it better get real simple real soon,” Clint retorted.

Vision wasn’t phased. “I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He will end it all.”

“What's he waiting for,” Tony questioned.

“You.”

“Where?”

“Sokovia,” Clint answered. “He's got Nat there, too.” He’d just gotten a ping off Natasha’s one-way tracker. 

Bruce approached Vision. If we're wrong about you, if you're the monster that Ultron made you to be,…”

I went to stand beside Vision, who asked, “What will you do?” He looked at each one of us. “I don't want to kill Ultron. He's unique and he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the others.”

He walked between us, looking at each of us. “Maybe I am a monster. I don't think I'd know if I were one. I'm not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me.” He picked up Thor’s hammer and held it out to the god. “But we need to go.”

Everyone but me was shocked, and Thor awkwardly took the hammer. “Right.” He walked off to prepare.

Steve got back into Cap mode. “Three minutes. Get what you need.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

Everyone separated to get ready.

I didn’t have much to do. I pulled my hair into a French braid and double-checked that I had all of my weapons in my pocket space. I also grabbed some extra arrows, arrowheads, guns, and bullet magazines for Clint and Natasha. 

\-----------

“No way we all get through this,” Tony commented to Steve, Bruce, and I as everyone else finished getting ready. “If even one tin soldier is left standing, we've lost. There's gonna be blood on the floor.”

Steve shrugged. “I got no plans tomorrow night.”

Tony huffed. “I get the first crack at the big guy. Iron Man's the one he's waiting for.”

I chuckled a little as Vision walked past us saying, “That's true. He hates you the most.”

\-------------------

“Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we'll be riding into heavy fire,” Steve was giving our team his normal pep talk on the jet. “And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. So our priority is getting them out.

All they want is to live their lives in peace. And that's not gonna happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, and we clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters. That we're what's wrong with the world. This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right.”

\-------------------

Once we got to the city, Pietro got the police to start helping clear the city. Hulk went off to get Natasha. Wanda and I used our mind magics to help as well, compelling people to leave the city in an orderly fashion. 

We were only about half-way done when Ultron-bots started emerging from underground. They fired on the people, and we had to protect them from the repulsor blasts. 

Wanda and I ushered people away from the worst of the fighting, towards the edges of the city.

“Go, get out of here!”

I threw up an energy shield as Wanda sent mist to disassemble the closest bots.

The pair of us had just gotten a group of people out of the city when it started to rise up. In a perimeter around a section of the city, the ground rose, taking the buildings with it. 

I flew Wanda back up, to try and help the people trapped on the levitating rock. 

I was protecting a family from falling debris when Ultron’s voice echoed throughout the city.

“Do you see...the beauty of it? The inevitability. You rise, only to fall. You, Avengers, you are my meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing. When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world… will be metal.”

Wanda gave me a shocked look, but I brushed off Ultron’s words and got back to work.

\-------------------

The battle raged on and I got separated from Wanda. I brought out my lightsabers and was cutting down bots left and right. 

Cap’s voice came over the comm, and I fought while I listened. 

“...The rest of us have one job, tear these things apart. You get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed... walk it off.”

I chuckled at Steve’s mid-battle humor, before getting back to taking out Ultron bots. 

In a lull in my part of the battle, I put a hand to my ear. “Pietro, as soon as you’re clear for a second, get over to me.”

I cut down one more bot before the speedster appeared in front of me. I handed him a few special energy bars from my pocket space. It would help restore his energy levels in a flash. “Eat these. It’ll keep your energy up.”

Pietro nodded his thanks before tearing into one of the bars and running off. 

A few minutes later, I was flying over the city, looking for any more civilians, when I spotted Clint and Wanda. 

I landed beside the archer and handed him the extra arrows I’d packed. 

“Thanks.” Clint didn’t look as he shot a bot through the chest behind him.

I smiled as I also handed over two Glocks and extra magazines. “For Nat, if you see her.”

I took off before Clint could answer. 

\------------------

I stayed up in the air, for the most part, keeping the Ultron-bots from leaving the city. Eventually, I ended up in the center of the city, fighting the main Ultron with Thor. 

“What do you got, Stark,” Cap asked over the comm.

“Nothing great.” Tony didn’t sound hopeful. “Maybe a way to blow up the city. That'll keep it from impacting the surface if you guys can get clear.”

“I asked for a solution, not an escape plan.”

He sighed. “Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice.”

I tuned out the conversation, as I tried to get a hit on Ultron. Vibranium was one of the few substances that couldn’t be cut with a lightsaber.

I only listened to the comm when a new voice chimed in. “Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better.”

I glanced towards the edge of the city to the view of the original helicarrier.

“Nice, right? I pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty, but she'll do.”

Steve laughed. “Fury, you son of a bitch.”

Fury chuckled back. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

I smiled but turned back to the fight at hand. 

“You think you're saving anyone?” Ultron had Thor by the neck. I couldn’t break his hold. “I turn that key and drop this rock a little early and it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that.”

Thor smirked. “I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast…” He glanced behind Ultron and me. “I am running out of things to say! Are you ready?”

Ultron turned around seconds too late to stop the hammer heading for his face. I smiled at Vision, who was looking at Thor. 

“It's terribly well-balanced.” Vision gestured to Mjolnir.

I nodded along with the android. “I know, right?”

Thor shrugged. “Well, if there's too much weight, you lose power on the swing, so…”

I took off straight into the air, to get a birds-eye-view of the situation. I could see the lifeboats taking the civilians to the helicarrier. I could see Tony and Rhodey, who’d show up with Fury, taking down flying bots. And, I could see the hoard of Ultron-bots heading for the core.

Just as I landed back in the church ruins, Tony commed. “Thor, I got a plan.”

I put a hand to my ear. “We're out of time. They're coming for the core.”

“Avengers,” Tony called. “Time to work for a living.”

One by one, the team all gathered. We stood in a circle facing out, protecting the core. I handed Clint some more arrowheads, and Pietro a few more energy bars.

Natasha and the Hulk were the last ones to get there, and I handed the assassin more magazines.

“What's the drill,” She asked Tony. 

The genius gestured to the core. “This is the drill. If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose.”

Thor spotted Ultron hovering in the air in front of us. “Is that the best you can do,” the godling yelled.

Ultron raised a hand, and the rest of his Ultron-bots came surging forward, stopping in a line before us.

Steve rolled his eyes at Thor. “You had to ask.”

Ultron spread his arms. “This is the best I can do. This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?”

“Well, as the old man said…” I could tell Tony was smiling under his helmet. “Together.”

The bots charged at us, and time became block, dodge, slice, cover, break, as we destroyed as many bots as we could.

\--------------------

Finally, the bots retreated a little, and Vision hit Ultron with a beam from the Mind Stone. Thor, Tony, and I all joined in, each using our beam weapon/power to keep Ultron back. 

Under the onslaught, even Ultron’s vibranium body started to melt a little. We all halted our attack as Ultron fell to all fours. 

The AI struggled to his feet. “You know, with the benefit of hindsight…”

Hulk knocked him into the air before he could finish. 

All of the remaining Ultron-bots started running away. 

“They'll try to leave the city,” Tony told us as he pursued them. “We can't let them, not even one. Rhodey.”

“I'm on it.” Warmachine flew past me. 

Vison and I soon caught up, though, and destroyed the bots trying to leave. 

Tony called me over the comm. “Jade, I’m going to need you and Thor back at the Church.”

I put a hand to my comm. “I’m on my way.”

“You know, this works, we maybe don't walk away.”

I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see me. “Maybe not, but innocent people will, and that’s what matters.”

\---------------

I was on my way to the Church when a blast of psychic pain almost knocked me out of the sky. 

I frowned and put a hand to my ear. “Wanda! Are you alright? I felt that from here.”

Wanda’s voice was shaky. “I’m fine, but Pietro is....” She trailed off.

“Stark, do you copy?”

Tony answered immediately. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Can you complete what you need to at the core with just Thor?”

He hummed in thought. “Yeah, I can manage. Why?”

“Pietro is down. I’m going to get him.” I changed course in the sky, heading towards where I last felt his mind. 

I found him with Clint, who was trying to carry Pietro’s body and a boy to the last lifeboat. 

“Give him here, Clint.”

The archer handed Pietro over to me, and we made it to the boats. 

“Wanda, I’ve got Pietro.”

“Copy. Ultron is down.” Wanda was heartbroken at having her twin ripped from her. “I could use a lift, though.”

“Alright,” I looked over at Vision, who took off. “Vision is coming to get you.”

The lifeboat took off, seconds before the city started to fall. I set Pietro’s body down on a seat.

Vision set Wanda down next to her twin minutes after. She clutched at his body and cried.

Now that we were out of danger, Clint, me, all of us, we took seats and rested after the long day we’d had.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All recognizable characters are the property of Marvel. This work is non-beta’d, all mistakes are mine. Feel free to tell me about them in the comments, but be respectful. 
> 
> Phasing- Density Shifting  
> Cloaking- Turning Invisible  
> Flashing- teleporting

“The rules have changed,” Steve was saying as he, Tony, Thor, and I walked through an outer hall of the new Avenger’s compound Tony was building. “We're dealing with something new. The Vision is artificial intelligence.”

It had been two weeks since Sokovia, and Steve, Tony, and I were escorting Thor outside, so he could return home.

“He’s a machine,” Tony pointed out. 

“So, it doesn't count,” Steve argued back. 

“No, it's not like a person lifting the hammer.”

He nodded along with Stark. “Right, different rules for us.”

“Nice guy.” Tony shrugged. “Artificial.”

“Thank you.”

Thor cut in. “He can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply.”

Steve shook his head. “But if you put the hammer in an elevator…”

“It would still go up,” Tony finished. 

“Elevator's not worthy.”

Thor and I shared amused glances before the godling led us outside. “I'm gonna miss these little talks of ours.”

“Not if you don't leave,” Tony pointed out.

“I have no choice.” Thor stepped away from us, so he could summon the Bifrost. “The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. It's not a coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. And once all these pieces are in position…”

“Triple Yahtzee.” Tony looked up at the taller man. “You think you can find out what's coming?”

“I do.” Thor pointed at Stark. “Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained.”

He gestured with his hammer, and the Bifrost came down, taking him away and leaving an intricate Celtic knot burned into the lawn.

Tony sighed. “That man has no regard for lawn maintenance.”

Steve nodded along. “I'm gonna miss him, though.”

“And you guys are gonna miss me.” Tony clicked his key fob as a sleek sports car drove up and opened its door for the genius. “There's gonna be a lot of manful tears.”

“I  _ will _ miss you, Tony.” Steve was sincere. 

“Yeah?” Tony got in the car. “ Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book. Build Pepper a farm, hope nobody blows it up. The simple life.”

I smiled at Tony. “You'll get there one day.”

He shrugged as the door closed, and the window rolled down. “Yeah, maybe. Well, see you guys.” Tony drove off.

I turned to Steve and caught sight of the thoughtful face he was making. “You’ll find that someday, too.”

He tilted his head. “I don't know. Family, stability... The guy who wanted all that

went in the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just patted his shoulder. 

\------------------

We went back inside and found Natasha. She was staring at a wall, lost in thought.

“You wanna keep staring at the wall,” Steve quipped to announce us. “Or do you wanna go to work?” He smiled. “I mean, it's a pretty interesting wall.”

Nat smiled back and joined us. “I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other's eyes. How do we look?”

I handed her a tablet displaying the roster.

Steve shrugged as we walked. “Well, we're not the '27 Yankees. We got some hitters. They're good. They're not a team.”

Natasha smirked as we went onto a balcony overlooking the hangar bay. “Let's beat them into shape.”

On the ground level, Warmachine, Vision, Wanda, and Falcon were all looking up at us. 

I smiled down at them, ready to build a new team.


End file.
